This week, the global elite, representing the highest echelons of politics, banking, big tech, media, industry and academia, gathered in Madrid, Spain, to discuss topics such as artificial intelligence and the “future of warfare” at the informal Bilderberg meeting, which marked its 70th anniversary.
Founded in 1954 after a meeting hosted by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands at the Bilderberg Hotel in the Dutch village of Oosterbeek, the Bilderberg Group’s annual meetings are considered the driving force behind many globalist projects.
Unlike similar organisations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Bilderberg meeting is held strictly behind closed doors and participants are bound by the Chatham House Rule, which prohibits them from revealing the identities of the people behind any ideas mentioned at the meeting. Though officially intended to allow for free debate, the fact that the global elite meet behind closed doors has given rise to many theories about the impact the meeting has on international policy.
This belief is not without basis. study According to a study by Lukas Kanter of Charles University in Prague, at least 133 politicians have risen to power after attending the Bilderberg meetings, including former US President Bill Clinton, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and current French President Emmanuel Macron.
At least 42 participants went on to become prime ministers, presidents or heads of international organisations such as the European Union, NATO or the International Monetary Fund, according to Kanter. While Kanter acknowledged that most of the participants did not rise to top political positions, he said it was likely that “politicians invited to exclusive meetings gained valuable contacts, inside information and perhaps some support.”
“From 2019 to 2023, the chairs of all major international organisations, including the EU, NATO, the IMF and the UN, have been Bilderberg members (Ursula von der Leyen, Jens Stoltenberg, Kristalina Georgieva and Antonio Guterres). This is unlikely to be a mere coincidence,” Kanter writes.
At this year’s conference in Madrid, host The event, hosted by Ana Botín, chairman of Santander, Spain’s largest bank, at the Eurostars Suites Mirasierra Hotel from May 30 to June 2, was attended by more than 130 celebrities from around the world.
Prominent political actors included NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Council President Charles Michel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, and former CIA Director David Petraeus.
The meeting was attended by top financial figures including European Investment Bank President Nadia Calvino, former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, and Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing. A range of traditional media figures were also in attendance, including CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, although journalists were barred from reporting on the contents of the meeting.
Other notable attendees included former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Google DeepMind CEO Hassabis Demis, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman, and unsuccessful Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
of Guardian Reports He noted that security at this year’s conference was “tight even by Bilderberg standards” and that security included “police drones hovering above the hotel.”
Bare-bones press release Members of the group said this year’s Bilderberg conference will focus on topics such as the state of artificial intelligence and safety, the “transition of biology,” climate, the “future of warfare,” and economic challenges for the U.S. and Europe, Ukraine, the Middle East, China and Russia.
The agenda for the meeting was selected:steering committeeThis includes Børge Brende of the World Economic Forum, who is reportedly set to replace Klaus Schwab as chairman of the Davos forum next year.
